bobinson



.(No Model.)

. D. E. ROBINSON GATE.

' Patented Feb. 26. 1884l fneddel d,

- ing mechanism.

. UNITED A TATES DULANEY n. aomnson,

PATENT Qrrren.

OF BOANOKE, ILLINOIS.

GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 294,077, dated. February' 26, 1884'.

.T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DULANEY E. ROBINSON, of Roanoke, in the county of WVoodford, in the State of Illinois, have invented an Improved Gate; and I do hereby declare that the fol lowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, makingapart of this specification, in which like letters of reference refer to like parts, and in which- Figure 1 representsa perspective view of the invention; and Fig. 2, a modification thereof.

The object of this invention is the construction of a gate that can be opened and closed from a distance, and that shall be automatically locked and unlocked by the opening and clos- The gate itself, in the form of a parallelogrampivotally held together, is pivoted to its supporting'post and counterbalanced by a weight at the opposite side of its said supporting-post.

My invention relates more especially to the mechanism for opening and closing the gate and to means for automatically locking and unlocking the same.

In the drawings, A is the chief horizontal bar of the gate, and D is the supporting double post, in which the bar A is pivoted at D. This bar A is madein cross-section in the form of an inverted U, for the sake of strength and increased neatness of appearance. \Vithin this space are'pivoted the upper ends of the vertical bars B, and to said bars 13 are pivotally secured the horizontal bars 0. To have these bars 0 set near enough together to keep small animals from passing through, and yet permit the gate to fold up snugly, I place the said bars 0 alternately on opposite sides of the vertical bars B. In this way only the alternate bars 0 touch each other when the gate is folded together. Only the lower of the horizontal bars are placed thus closely together. The upper ones are farther separated until between the upper bar, 0, and the U- bar A there is a space double, or nearly so, that between the lower two bars, or equal to that separating the two lower alternate bars;

To the extended end of the bar A is fastened a weight, E, slightly heavier than the gate itself; This enables the gate to retain itself open after having been raised.

Application filed September 5, 1883. (No model.)

To look the gate, and thereby prevent its opening either by the counter-weight E or by the efforts of any animals, I have devised the toggle-joint lock F F, which, being pivoted at one end to the bar A at A, andto the post D at D, and having its joint F held by a flexible connection, G, slightly below the straight line, joining the pivotal points A D prevents bar A from being moved until the said joint shall be raised. That this raising-of the said flexible connection G may be automatically performed by the same movement that would tend to open the gate, I fasten the upper end of the flexible connection, which I here show as a chain, to the end H of the rocking lever H. To the end H of said lever is pivoted the lower end of rod K, the upper end of which is pivoted to the stirrup L. In this stirrup are pivoted the ends of thelevers M M, which are pivotally, supported ator near their centers by the posts N N.v The length of the levers M is equal to a little more than the distance from a drivefls seat to beyond the horses head.

In opening this gate, a person if on foot takes hold of the depending red 0, but if in a carriage of the'lever M itself, and raises his end of it. This gives a downward movement to the opposite end and to the rod K thereat. The end H of the rocking lever H shares in this depression, which raises its other end, H, the chain G, and thereby the joint F. The toggle-joint F F being thus upwardly flexed, and the downward pressure of the lever M continuing, the gate is thereby opened until the bar A is almost vertical. After passing through the gate, the other rod, '0, is pulled downward until the gate descends to its place, the toggle-joint F F settles to its locked position, and all is fast. \Vhen the gate is open and the bar A therefore almost vertical, the

bars B and C are folded down against it by the action of gravity, and as the gate closes the bars B, continuing to hang vertical, come down into the position shown in the drawings.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and that for which I desire Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. The combination,with acounterweighted vertically-swinging bar having a folding gate depending therefrom, of a toggle-j oint pivoted at its ends to the weighted end of said bar,

and to the post supporting the same, and combination with means whereby the end B means whereby to flex said joint, substantially of said rocking lever is acted upon by the moveas described, and for the purpose specified. 1nent of the levers M, substantially as and for 15 2. In combination with the weighted bar A, the purpose described. pivotally supported by the post D, the gate 13 In testimony that I claim the foregoing in- O, the toggle-joint F F, chain G, rocking levention I have hereunto set my hand this 14th ver H, and means for depressing the end H day of August 1883. of the same substantially as and for the )urpose Set folgm 1 DULANEY n. ROBINSON.

3. The bars B B, counterweighted bar A, \Vitnesses: having pivotally-supporting post D, toggle- '0. F. BROWN, joint F F, chain G, and rocking lever H, in L. J. JETER. 

